Why were the Bolsheviks successful in 1917?

The Bolsheviks successfully made a revolution and seized power at the end of October 1917.
This revolution was not just chance; it was planned from the beginning, with several factors
contributing to the success of the revolution. It was these contributions made it possible for
the Bolsheviks to seize power.

At the time of the October revolution the ruling body in charge of Russia was the provisional
government, this was set up in the immediate aftermath of Tsar Nicholas II’s abdication
intending to rule only for a short time before a normal government could be elected. This
made it somewhat easier for the Bolsheviks because come October the provisional
government was already unpopular. George Lvov was the first leader of the provisional
government he was unpopular because of his unwillingness to seek a truce with the central
powers and withdraw from the First World War, this made him unpopular with the masses
and on 8th July he resigned and was replaced by Alexander Kerensky.

Kerensky was still very popular because of his history. In the Duma he had been leader of
the moderate socialists and had been seen as the champion of the working-class. However,
Kerensky, like George Lvov, was unwilling to end the war. In fact, soon after taking office, he
announced a new summer offensive. Soldiers on the Eastern Front were dismayed at
the news and regiments began to refuse to move to the front line. There was a rapid
increase in the number of men deserting and by the autumn of 1917 an estimated 2
million men had unofficially left the army.

Soon after the failure of the July offensive Kerensky replaced the current commander
in chief, Alexei Brusilov, with Lavr Kornilov. However the two clashed over military
policy. Kornilov wanted Kerensky to restore the death-penalty for soldiers and to put
the factories under military control.

Kornilov tried to seize power on 7th September when he demanded the resignation of
the Cabinet and the surrender of all military and civil authority to the Commander in
Chief. Kerensky refused and instead removed Kornilovs title and ordered him back to
Petrograd. Kornilov sent troops to try and take control of Petrograd, Kerensky was
panicking he asked the Bolsheviks for help defending the city, after negotiations with
Kornilovs troops they decided not to attack the city after all and Kornilov was
arrested. This reflected very badly on Kerensky and his provisional government as
he had had to ask the Bolsheviks to defend the city for him, and people were angry
that he had appointed Kornilov in the first place.

Lenin was responsible for many things, one of which was his propaganda. It was Lenin who
produced his April Theses, including his political ideas and beliefs, which when read by
others, encouraged them to take action and side with the Bolsheviks.

Lenin was seen as an influential leader, making the whole revolution possible, using his
great leadership skills. He had faced exile in Siberia, yet he still managed to hide away, and
return with influential speeches and propaganda, making him a superb and prominent leader.
He was the person who planned the whole revolution, taking action against what he believed
strong about, finally leading the Bolsheviks to power, during the events of the October
Revolution he directed the activities from the Bolshevik headquarters at the Smolny Institute.
Had Lenin not been in Russia, it is highly unlikely that the Bolsheviks would have begun the
October Revolution.

Trotsky also played a major role in the October revolution. Trotsky was leader of the Red
Guard and was also in charge of the Petrograd soviet, a position that gave him a huge amount
of power and influence. When the Bolsheviks took power, Trotsky was put in charge of the
post offices and communications, bridges and the State banks, the most vital areas of Russia.

The Bolshevik party also had support in important places. Over half the army supported the
Bolshevik cause, and with the army, nothing could stop them. This was because without the
army the provisional government could not enforce the measures needed to put down the
revolution. Also with the army on their side the Bolsheviks could control the communications
and travel network throughout the country. The army took control of the railway network and
all communications making it extremely difficult to stop the revolution. The army also
supplied the Bolsheviks with weapons.

The Russian navy also joined the ranks of the Bolsheviks. This was a huge boost for the
Bolsheviks, as now they could control what was coming in and out of the country. It also
gave the control over large battleships like the Aurora that could provide fire from several
miles out to sea.

The major industrial centres in Russia also joined the Bolshevik cause. This meant that the
Bolsheviks could now manipulate the Russian industry, they could make ammunition and all
the goods could be available for the Bolshevik forces, if they need them. As they could
manipulate them, they could produce all the materials they needed to make certain things e.g.
buildings and weapons.

Lastly they had control over the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets; this was a factor as the
soviets had a large amount of power and fought for the same cause as the Bolsheviks.

In conclusion the success of the Bolsheviks can’t be attributed to one factor but relied on
many, some were lucky but most came down to good judgment of leaders Lenin and Trotsky
and the unpopularity of the provisional government. As with any revolution the armed forces
played a key role as without their support the Bolsheviks would never have been able to seize
power.

The success of the revolution transformed Russia into a socialist Dictatorship, not much
better than Tsardom. Other countries did not recognize the new government and even
attacked parts of Russia to try and depose it, however these attempts were unsuccessful and
the Soviet Union remained in power until 1991.